The greatest joke of all
by RogueCajun
Summary: It's Halloween in Gotham City and Bruce Wayne is hosting a party, someone unexpected has plans to do a little party crashing and a little Bat unmasking...let the games begin. Rated T for future content. Now complete. Sequel in the works.
1. Prologue: In the dark mind of the Joker

Title: The greatest joke of all

By: RogueCajun

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: **The Dark Knight** © Chris Nolan & Warner Brothers

**Batman** © DC

Summary: The Joker. On jokes, life, and Batman.

A/n: This came to me in a dream. So, sorry if it's odd.

* * *

He wasn't stupid. Nor was he crazy, as everyone believed. He knew a few things about living that the rest of the world was either too ignorant or too blind to see--

Firstly: the only truly interesting way to live life was without rules, to live it blindly. To live life for the moment because each one might be your last….

Especially when he was around. Being an agent of chaos one never knew what was bound to happen.

Secondly, if you're good at something, never do it for free--he was good at his sadistic little jokes. And they weren't free, oh no, the victims either owed him their pitiful little lives or they paid him with their deaths. Either way was good for him.

But the real kicker was this--

He knew Batman's true identity!

It was fairly easy to narrow it down after he had eliminated Dent. He was a little disappointed actually, he had hoped for a challenge. He wouldn't tell anybody yet, because without Batman his life would be predictable and boring-- and because knowing the secret and _not_ telling anyone was the greatest joke of all!

* * *

A/n: Hmm…that was shorter than I thought it was.

Don't forget to review!


	2. One: The Bat, the bird, and the clown

Title: The Greatest Joke of All.

By: RogueCajun

Rating: Pg-13.

Disclaimer: **The Dark Knight** © Chris Nolan  
**Batman & all related characters** © DC

Summary: It's Halloween in Gotham City, Bruce Wayne is having a masquerade ball and someone unexpected has plans to do a little party crashing…let the games begin.  
Chapter: One.

Timeline: Set a year after The Dark Knight.

A/n: It sucked as a one-shot. So now it's a full-fledged story, with a coherent plot and everything! Now with added Batman characters! =)  
Makes reference to a story with Batsy & the Joker in Arkham…haven't actually gotten around to writing it yet. So go read Random-Battlecry's "Bird in hand" instead, because it's better than I could ever do.

Also referenced is a Smallville A/U that I'm working on. All you need to know about that is it's got Stargirl in it. (Cause she's awesome!)

* * *

**Chapter One: "The Bat, the bird, and the clown."**

Night had fallen and the citizens of Gotham were bustling about, more people were going out these days because they believed the lie about Gotham being safer—Gotham wasn't safer, it was all a clever illusion, propaganda from the Mayor's office and the police Commissioner. The Joker loved people who lived by rules, loved to prove to them that they had it all wrong. Like the Batman. Now there was one predictable cat. But that's what the Joker loved about him.  
On a night like tonight, Halloween, the town went mad…well, madder than usual at any rate. It was the night of the annual Wayne Masquerade ball. And someone unexpected had found himself an invitation.  
After spending some quality time with his 'good friend' Batman in Arkham, he had gained the upper hand. He now knew everything worth knowing about dear old Batsy. This little side trip to the masquerade ball would prove it, and if it turned out he was wrong, oh well. He could still spread a little chaos and mischief. What better way to prove to the 'good citizens' of Gotham that it wasn't safe at all? Plus, breaking rich guys' things was too much fun to pass up. Besides, he had new henchmen to break in, so better to start them off with something easy, like breaking and entering/petty theft, and maybe a murder or two and then ease them into the big things, like mass murders.  
It was a win/win for everyone…except Bruce Wayne.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the newly rebuilt Wayne Manor--  
Bruce Wayne was uneasy. Halloween brought out all the crazies, and Gotham had more than its fair share of crazies. If it wasn't for the fact that this masquerade ball was a tradition started by his father he would have canceled it. Well, tradition and a ten year old boy currently complaining loudly in the dining hall. "Aw, Bruce why can't I go out? It's Halloween!"

Richard Grayson was Bruce Wayne's ward; he had seen both his parents die after the lines on their trapeze had been sabotaged. Bruce and his date had been in the audience when it had happened; he saw himself in the young boy and felt almost obligated to take him in, Dick also happened to be Rachel Dawes' cousin. Since Rachel's death Dick had no family left, and Bruce was still mourning her death and would take any connection to her he could get…although now he was almost regretting it. Raising a ten year old boy was hard enough without having to worry about keeping him safe from the psychopathic criminal element. But the boy didn't understand and felt as though Bruce was being too controlling.  
"That is exactly why you're not going out." Bruce muttered to himself.

"If you don't mind my asking Master Wayne, what are you supposed to be?" Alfred asked taking in Bruce's 'costume', or rather lack thereof.

"Bruce Wayne." He replied. Dick rolled his eyes as he scurried out of the room to go get changed for the party. Bruce was so lame sometimes. "You have to admit, its one hell of a costume." Bruce said with a smile to Alfred once he was sure Dick was out of earshot. Bruce gave himself one last look over, fixed his tie and then headed into the ballroom to await his guests.

"True sir, if a bit of an inside joke." Alfred replied quietly.

* * *

Ah, Wayne Manor. It was a shame he would have to burn it down someday. It really was a nice piece of architecture. Three of his henchmen stood a few feet away, the rest were already inside.

"What're ya doin' boss?" one of his henchmen asked. He wasn't entirely sure which one it was, he was referring to these as 'Winkin', 'Blinkin' and 'Nod' since he had run out of clown names seven henchmen ago, and nobody liked recycled names. It was about standards.  
In one fluid motion the Joker pulled a knife out of his pocket and threw it with deadly accuracy at the speaking henchmen. He toppled over dead.

"I'm working." The Joker answered with a malicious smile. "Anybody else got any questions?" The remaining two henchmen shook their heads vigorously. The Joker grinned even wider, nothing like a little death to boost morale.

* * *

"Once again the day is saved by The Grey Ghost!" Dick announced loudly, thrusting one arm into the air triumphantly. As far as Dick knew this was the only thing he and his new adopted father had in common--- a love for the Grey Ghost. He liked Bruce alright; he thought that Bruce was too stuffy and boring…and busy, always busy. Alfred was waaaay more fun to play with, he'd pretend to be an evil Nazi General so that Dick as the Grey Ghost could defeat him and save the world from a reign of terror. Plus, he was British and the made him generally awesome. "Take that Nazi scum! Hiyah!" Dick exclaimed karate chopping his way toward the ballroom.

Most of the guests had already arrived, Bruce felt like a terrible host as he only knew a few of the people there very well—The Gordon family, the Commissioner, his wife and their two children, in truth they didn't know him half as well as they knew his other half; since Commissioner Gordon knew Batman more than Bruce Wayne. Bruce hoped that the two Gordon children would be able to keep Dick out of trouble. That kid was a handful, but Bruce had decided that he rather liked having him around, he kept things lively. Also attending was Courtney Whitmore, step-daughter of a business associate of his father's, and her date whom she had introduced to Bruce as Arthur—Bruce's impression of him was that he was a surfer type who was only there to impress Courtney with how well he fit in with her friends, but that was just Bruce's impression; Bruce wasn't good at reading people.

There were reporters there from two different papers, the Gotham Post and Metropolis' Daily Planet. Bruce detested reporters, but he found it hard to dislike the country boy charm of Clark Kent, and Lois Lane wasn't bad to look at. But he found the photographer from the Gotham Post to be very intriguing—Vicki Vale was her name.

"I can't believe you dragged me to this Knox, " she said to her partner. "I didn't come to Gotham to cover masquerade balls at Wayne Manor; I wanted to cover the Batman."

"I know Vic, we will. We just have to cover this first. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll put in an appearance, I mean last time Wayne threw a party he burned down his house, if anybody needs to be saved from themselves by Batman it's Bruce Wayne." Knox replied. Knox's eyes went wide as he noticed Bruce Wayne standing there. He knew Bruce Wayne hated him, and truth be told he wasn't Wayne's biggest fan either. But it was one thing to bash Wayne when he couldn't hear him, and another to do it when Wayne might actually hear him.

"Knox, always a pleasure to see you." Bruce greeted.

"How's it going Bruce?" Knox replied politely.

"Care to dance Ms. Vale?" he asked. She smiled.

"Please, call me Vicki."

* * *

As Bruce was enjoying himself with the beautiful photographer, trouble was brewing across the room. Jimmy Gordon was dressed as Batman…well, as close to Batman as he could get, his sister Barbara was dressed as a Princess. They were having a great time, Jimmy and Dick were getting along fantastically. 'Batman' and 'The Grey Ghost' were valiantly vanquishing villains, but it felt as though something was missing. "I know!" Jimmy exclaimed suddenly. "We need a damsel in distress to rescue."

"You're a genius!" Dick replied, he quickly turned to face Barbara who was thoroughly absorbed into her own imaginary world. "Barbara, will you be our damsel?" he asked. The tiny redhead turned to face him. Boys were icky, but this one was kind of cute.

"Heck no buster! Imma WARRIOR Princess, nobody rescues me." Dick scrunched up his face in confusion. What girl wouldn't want to be rescued by 'Batman' and 'The Grey Ghost'?

"But you're a girl." He said. "Girls can't be warriors, silly." Babs smiled sweetly before swiftly kicking him in the shin and stomping off. "Holy distressing damsels Batman! We still don't have anyone to rescue." Dick said rubbing his shin.

Jimmy patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry Grey Ghost old chum, we'll find one."

* * *

Clark Kent felt out of place. VERY out of place. He was never very good at fitting in at these types of parties. Lois on the other hand tackled these types of situations the same way she did everything else, head-on. She was bouncing around from person to person, keeping herself busy leaving Clark standing all alone. "What are you supposed to be Kent? Wait, let me guess…Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter by day, red-blue blur by night?" Clark looked up to see Courtney Whitmore walking towards him. She was the newest member of Oliver Queen's super powered team.

"How'd you guess?" he asked with a smile.

"It's the glasses that really give it away. What's with those anyway?" Clark didn't usually wear glasses, they made him look a little geeky, but cute.

"Lois." That one word said it all. "What are you doing here? And what are you supposed to be?" he asked her. She adjusted her hat, she was dressed in a black dress and a pointed hat.

"Oliver. You know how it is, bossman points and the rest of us jump, A.C. is here somewhere. And I'm supposed to be a witch. Notice the hat and the broom and the sparkly belt. Which happens to double as my cosmic belt and my star-rod but nobody else needs to know that." She admitted sheepishly. It was then that he noticed that the broom she was carrying was indeed a disguised star-rod.

Two little boys came rushing over. The little black haired one tugged on Courtney's dress. "'Scuse me Miss, would you like to be our damsel in distress?" he asked. She smiled.

"Of course," she said kneeling down to his level. "Who wouldn't want to be rescued by heroes as dashing as 'Batman' and 'The Grey Ghost'?" Jimmy blushed under his 'Batman' mask. He'd never been called "dashing" before. Clark raised an eyebrow. "What? I've got a younger sister the same age."

* * *

"So, you're new to Gotham?" Bruce was finding it very easy to talk to Vicki Vale.

"Yes, I've only been here for two months. I came here to photograph Batman." She replied. It seemed everyone was interested in Batman these days. He had gone from hero, to villain, to somewhere in between.

"Isn't that kind of dangerous, following the Batman around trying to get his picture?" Bruce asked.

"Probably, but a girl's gotta have a little danger in her life." Vicki said with a smile. Yeah, she was _definitely_ interesting.

* * *

A/n: Hmmm…wasn't the Joker supposed to be in here? Sorry I got distracted by the adorable future!Robin, and glasses-wearing!Clark.

Things take a bad turn next chapter when the Joker shows up to wreak havoc.


	3. Two: It's all about showmanship

Title: The Greatest Joke of all.

By: RogueCajun.

Rating: PG-13.

Disclaimer:**The Dark Knight © Chris Nolan.  
Batman & all related characters © DC**

Summary: It's Halloween in Gotham City, Bruce Wayne is having a masquerade ball and someone unexpected has plans to do a little party crashing and a little bat unmasking…let the games begin.

Chapter: Two.

Timeline: Set a year after The Dark Knight.

A/N: It's alive!!! It's a short chapter, but at least it's an update. =)

* * *

**Chapter two: "It's all about showmanship."**

* * *

Outside, the Joker moved into position. The ballroom had a large skylight; this was his planned point of entry. It would be the most memorable, swoop down into the room and terrify the guests from the get-go. It was a perfect plan; it fit his showy nature to a "t". His henchmen on the inside, codenamed "The three bears and goldilocks", were already in position waiting eagerly for their boss' entrance. Oh yes, this was going to be one hell of a party!

Inside Wayne Manor Vicki Vale was rapidly falling in love, with Gotham City, with her job and above all Bruce Wayne. He was everything the boys back home were not, charming, cultured and actually interested in what she had to say. Plus, he was a billionaire. Of course, he was not the only contender for her affections in Gotham. Across the room Knox sat with his arms crossed across his chest, glaring daggers at the back of Bruce Wayne's head. As if he needed another reason to dislike Wayne. Alfred couldn't help but notice how much attention Master Wayne was paying to this new woman, it brought a smile to his face. Perhaps he could finally get over Rachel and focus on something other than his nightly adventures. Then at last there could be some normality in the Wayne household again. From where he was standing Clark could hear many things—Courtney playing pretend with Bruce Wayne's ward and the Commissioner's son, he could hear Lois chatting up a dark haired man across the room, he could even hear Chloe speaking to A.C. through an earpiece. However, there was another noise, something other than the noises of the party, coming from the roof. He looked around for anyone that might be watching him; he saw no one and sped out of the room.

"So Vicki, would you be interested in grabbing lunch some afternoon?" Bruce asked. The Batman part of his brain was laughing right now, he found it amusing how he could take on mass murdering psychopaths without so much as breaking a sweat but when faced with asking a beautiful woman out to lunch he was a bundle of nerves, it was ironic…and a good thing Bruce was always good at hiding his emotions. Before Vicki could respond a loud crash and a shower of glass came from above as the Joker and two henchmen dropped in through the broken skylight. Bruce _really_ hated Halloween.

"Happy Halloween ladies and gentlemen! My associates and I have come for your valuables." The Joker announced loudly as the three bears began securing the doors and Goldilocks and Blinkin and Nod rounded up the guests and herded them into the center of the room. Alfred searched the crowd for Dick, a robbery was not something a child should see, he saw Courtney Whitmore ushering Dick and the other children under the buffet table, at least they were safe for now.

* * *

"S.O.S. Watchtower." A.C. said quietly.

"What's going on Aquaman?" Chloe Sullivan's voice rang loud and clear in both AC's and Courtney's ears.

"The Joker and six henchmen decided to gatecrash."

"You want me to send Cyborg and Impulse?" she asked.

"No." Courtney chimed in. "Too many variables, seven bad guys and a room full of civilians, kids included. Can't risk it."

"Stargirl's right. Keep 'em on standby, we'll let you know if we need 'em." AC finished. Chloe sighed; Oliver was **NOT** going to like this.

* * *

From under the table Dick, Jimmy, and Babs could see what was going on in the room. The man in the face paint had rounded everyone up in the center of the room and his henchmen were taking their valuables. The painted man had Bruce isolated from everyone else, Dick would never admit that he was worried about his foster father even though he was. Jimmy wasn't worried. Batman, the real Batman would save everybody, he was sure of it. Batman had saved him once, he'd do it again. He just had to! Babs was less than thrilled about being stuffed under a table, she was a warrior princess dagnabbit, she should be kicking butt but no, that crazy guy in the face paint had to show up and put an end to her game. She would like nothing more than to go out there and kick that guy with the clown makeup in the shin, but Dick had told her to wait; that it would be better to wait until the henchmen were distracted and _then_ they could sneak out of their hiding place and save the day, she had to admit his plan made sense but she wouldn't tell him that.

The Joker pranced over to where Bruce stood but Bruce paid him no mind, he was looking for the quickest and easiest escape route so that he could sneak out and get to the batcave. Suddenly, without warning a gloved hand grasped his shoulder tightly as the Joker pulled him close and licked the side of his face, the way he had done to Batman in Arkham months earlier; Bruce should have been used to this by now as it was practically how the other man said 'hello'. Bruce's reaction was a mix of shock, revulsion, and mortification which quickly turned to horror as he realized the implications of that one action. "Tastes like chicken." The Joker mused as he released the other man. "Brucey, long time no see, how ya been?" The way that the Joker had said 'Brucey' had made the part of Bruce who worked so hard to keep his identity a secret cringe; it was the same tone he used to greet Batman as "Batsy". That was why the Joker was here, he knew. Bruce's worst nightmare had come true. The Joker knew his identity and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Joker…" Bruce growled. The Joker smiled broadly, it was odd as his scars already made his smile large, now it looked as if he wore a grin better befitting the Cheshire cat.

"See Brucey, I told you there were no secrets betwixt cellmates." Bruce glared at him. "Oh come on now, crack a smile. I'm not going to unmask you, not yet at least; we're going to have some fun first."

Bruce really, really HATED Halloween.

* * *

A/n: Updates should be a little more consistent now. =)


	4. Three: Not my idea of fun

Title: The Greatest Joke of All.

By: RogueCajun

Rating: Pg-13.

Disclaimer: **The Dark Knight** © Chris Nolan  
**Batman & all related characters** © DC  
**Smallville** © WB

Summary: It's Halloween in Gotham City, Bruce Wayne is having a masquerade ball and someone unexpected has plans to do a little party crashing…let the games begin.

Chapter: Three.

Timeline: Set a year after The Dark Knight.

A/n: I just have to mention how creepy it is that I post a chapter with a Smallville version of Stargirl and then she shows up on Smallville. (Although my version is a slightly older version, but it doesn't matter.)

* * *

**Chapter Three:** **Not my idea of fun.**

**

* * *

**

Fun? Yeah, he needed the Joker's kind of fun like he needed a hole in the head, which knowing the Joker it was possible that he'd end up with one before the night was over.

"What's this?" The Joker inquired, eyes traveling over the form of Vicki Vale. "New woman in your life Brucey? It didn't take you long to get over ol'-what's-her-name. Nice choice, love me a blond." He took two steps toward her, Vicki crossed her arms and looked thoroughly unimpressed—this man didn't scare her. Bruce stepped between them, mind racing in an attempt to find a way to resolve this situation that didn't involve revealing himself as Batman or end in a room full of dead guests. "Brucey, Brucey, Brucey you're a real fun killer." the Joker chastised. "I wasn't gonna hurt her, just play with her a little."

"What do you want Joker?"

"To spread a little destruction, maybe some fear, a few laughs—the usual." He replied clicking his tongue. He wrapped his arm around Bruce's shoulders again. Bruce's patience was wearing thin; he wanted nothing more than to break the gloved hand grasping his shoulder. "The _real_ question is: 'What do you want?' What purpose does a man who dresses like a giant bat have?" he added aside to Bruce. "You see folks," he now addressed the entire ballroom. "My pal Bruce here has a secret–"

* * *

**Meanwhile, across the room….**

Dick Grayson watched as the pasty-faced weirdo threatened Bruce. (Well, he assumed the man was threatening Bruce, Dick was too far away to hear what they were saying—but Bruce looked worried and that wasn't a good sign.) The question repeating in Dick's mind was '**what would Dad do**'? His father had been a kind man, but one who would stop at nothing to protect his family. Dick wanted _desperately_ to be just like him. But when the time came for Dick to step up and protect his family he did nothing, just watched helplessly as they fell to their deaths. He had already lost one father from a failure to act—he would not lose this one. Dick looked around the room, searching for some way to help. What he really needed was a distraction.

* * *

"So you see," the Joker said loudly. "Bruce & I—we're the same. Two figures with tragic pasts forcing them to act out—Bruce as a rich playboy with," he paused searching for the right phrase. Aha! He had it! "questionable nocturnal habits." He smirked at Bruce. "And me, as the charming clown prince of crime you see before you."

Suddenly, a figure dressed in red and blue dropped down through the skylight. His face was covered by sunglasses, a hood and he had a bandana over his face. "Joker, let these people go." The figure ordered in an authoritative voice.

'Let these people go'? Who did this guy think he was—Moses? And what was with that voice was he using a voice changer? The Joker supposed it didn't matter. The man would be dead in a few moments.

"Boys," The Joker said to his henchmen. "He's all yours." Blinkin, Nod, and Goldilocks headed toward the newcomer with guns drawn, they opened fire on him a moment later. Bruce couldn't believe his eyes, the bullets seemed to bounce off this stranger; the Joker and his henchmen seemed to be perplexed by this occurrence as well. Bruce saw an opportunity and took it, bringing his elbow up quickly—it connected with the Joker's face with a sickening '**crack**'! He was going to end this now. He was angry. Angry that the Joker had discovered his identity, angry that the man had the nerve to break into _his_ home, angry about what he had done to Rachel and Harvey, angry that the Joker had mocked his past—saying that they were the same. He was going to stop the Joker and at this point he didn't care if people discovered that he was Batman; this maniac had to be stopped!

The Joker recoiled from Bruce's blow, staggering away with a laugh, blood running down his face. "A sneak attack Bruce, really? And here I thought you had scruples."

The Joker now had his back turned to the table where Dick and the other children were hiding, between the table and the Joker was a large chandelier. As he looked at it an idea came to him, he scurried to the other end of the long table.

"Where are you going?" Babs hissed as he passed her.

"To save the day." He replied with a winning smile, crawling out from under the table and hopping up upon it. He got a running start and leaped up into the air, grabbing the chandelier. The force sent it swinging forward, he let go at the last minute and went flying feet first into the Joker's back. The clown crashed into the floor.

"We have to help him!" Babs said to Jimmy before rushing over to kick the Joker in the face.

* * *

Meanwhile, there were others in the ballroom who decided to take matters into their own hands. As soon as Lois Lane saw the figure drop from the roof above she knew it was the blur. This was the first time she had actually _seen_ him, although she couldn't technically see his face. She knew she had to help him, so she grabbed the closest blunt object she could find—a small statue on a nearby shelf. Then she quietly slipped off her high-heels and crept up behind the nearest clown. Swinging the statue with all of her might she hit him in the head, sending him sprawling onto the floor and into the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness.

Alfred Pennyworth was once a secret agent. As such he was more than capable of taking out a penny-ante thug. He cracked the man in the head with the serving tray in his hands and then kicked the man's prone figure once for good measure. True, it wasn't very gentlemanly of him; his grandfather would have been mortified to see him acting so. But these goons had come into Wayne Manor uninvited, terrified the guests, harassed Master Bruce and shattered the brand new skylight, he reasoned that Grandfather Pennyworth would forgive him just this once.

Jimmy Gordon watched his new friend and his sister take down an honest-to-goodness villain and he had done nothing. Hiding under a table while people were in trouble was not something the real Batman would do. So he slipped out from underneath the table and approached a mean looking thug, stomping down hard on the man's foot before running. "Why, you little punk!" he didn't run fast enough and the man snatched him by the cape.

"Excuse me," said a voice. The thug turned around only to be smacked in the face by something that looked like a broom. The woman who had played with them earlier-Courtney readjusted her witch's hat. "Nice job, 'Batman'." She told Jimmy who smiled broadly.

Once Lois had taken down the nearest bad guy she watched as the blur took down the three clowns easily and then disappeared back through the skylight. Once again, her personal superhero had saved the day. She couldn't help but smile. Clark approached her a few moments later looking disheveled. "Lois, are you alright?" he asked.

"Of course Smallville. It takes more than a guy in clown makeup to ruffle Lois Lane's feathers." She replied. She gave him a once over before asking. "Where have _you_ been?"

"On the other side of the room." He said, hoping he sounded convincing. The last thing he needed was for Lois to suddenly realize that he and the blur were never in the same place at the same time. His response seemed to satisfy her.

Bruce could not believe what had just happened. Very few things in life surprised him, but Dick Grayson and little Barbara Gordon taking down the Joker and the appearance of this bullet-proof stranger was enough to make Bruce stop and go 'wait, what'?

"Once again, the day is saved by the Grey Ghost!" Dick crowed loudly. Babs cleared her throat. Dick looked over at her, she was tapping her foot impatiently with her hands on her hips. "And the warrior princess." He added rather reluctantly. Babs smiled smugly.

"And don't forget the Batman." Jimmy added coming over to stand next to Dick.

"You're right, let's try that again." Dick cleared his throat and put on his best 'narrator' voice. "The dynamic duo of Batman and the Grey Ghost, along with their newfound warrior princess ally have defeated another evil doer and saved the innocent citizens of Gotham City!" the two boys high-fived.

* * *

The police showed up soon after, Bruce figured that Gordon must have called them. As the Joker was being led out of the room he turned to look back at Bruce over his shoulder. "This was fun Brucey, let's do it again next year. Next time, you should dress up."

'_Well'_ thought Bruce, _'That settles it, next year I'm taking Dick trick-r-treating. It'd probably be safer.'_

Vicki Vale stayed behind as Knox and the other guests bean to leave—glad to have survived another party fiasco at Wayne Manor. There was something she found interesting about Bruce Wayne. Something about the way he handled himself tonight made her think that perhaps there was something more that his carefree rich playboy exterior. "So Bruce," she stepped closer. "I think you were asking me a question before all of this started." She prompted.

"Right. Would you like to have lunch sometime?"

"I'd love to." She replied with a smile.

"How's Tuesday sound?" he asked.

"That sounds great." And with that Vicki Vale was gone. Once she was out of sight he shifted into 'Batman' mode—all serious and business like. "Alfred," he began.

"Yes Master Wayne?"

"We have a problem. The Joker knows who I am."

"Oh dear." Was all the butler said.

* * *

A/n: Yey! It's finally finished!

Originally this wasn't how it was going to end. I've got a lot more planned with this same idea, but there's only so much you can do with one party. So expect more set in this universe.

Also, there's footnotes on the story over at my livejournal.


End file.
